Twin Trip

The Ojai, Calif.–based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Felix Penny went about assembling a band in 2009 to flesh out songs he’d been working on for a few years. After recruiting drummer Micah Van Hove and performing for a while as a duo, they landed bassist Eric Olsen and keyboard/guitar player Gigie Hall. Under the Twin Trip moniker, the quartet recorded these 12 songs for its 2012 eponymous debut album. “New World” opens with Penny’s buttery voice melting over woody acoustic guitar tones, Van Hove’s pedaling patterns, and six-string electric guitar wizardry. The following “Heavy Load” best exemplifies the band's finer moments. It’s a slightly moody indie-pop tune that juxtaposes busy rhythms with simple and soaring melodies and a blossoming chorus that unfolds with layers of '90s-flavored guitar distortion. That distortion gets magnified to create deeper growls that, when contrasted against Penny’s higher-registered singing, make “Clowns” resonate with subtle Radiohead similarities. He expands on his Thom Yorke inspirations in “Man on the Moon,” a “Fake Plastic Trees”–esque ballad.